A ballot that empowers property owners to determine the fate of a proposed tax assessment for the Ripon Consolidated Fire District is in the mail.
Only property owners will get a ballot.
And in some cases where individuals have multiple properties, up to 14 parcels will be on one ballot.
If property owners don’t receive a ballot within a week, they are encouraged to reach out to the fire district to make sure they get one.
Information regarding the ballot is on the fire district’s website.
The public hearing and vote tabulation is Aug. 13.
The bottom line of the measure is it will cost owners of single family homes in the RCFD $249.98 more annually to increase the manpower availability to respond to medical emergencies, accidents and fires.
The ability to hire six firefighters for 24/7 staffing will not only address the need for another engine company to respond when the district’s only staffed engine is already on a call — that happened 986 times during 2025 — but it can also reduce response times to calls in the northern part of the city and the eastern portion of the district.
That’s because having a manned engine company at the now shuttered North Ripon Road station will cut upwards of two minutes off response times in a large swath of the district.
The proposed assessment would generate $1,761,404 annually to fund the following specific service enhancement including $1,567,395 in staff cots for:
*Six additional firefighters to provide 24/7/365 coverage at the fire station at 1705 North Ripon Road
*Ongoing firefighter and paramedic training required by state and federal regulations
*Firefighter benefits including health insurance, workers' compensation, and retirement contributions.
It will also cover $59,484 in general operations for:
*Increased operational costs associated with running a second station
*Utilities, communications, and routine operational expenses
Apparatus and equipment operations costs of $69,093 for:
*Maintenance and repair of firefighting apparatus and vehicles
*Equipment necessary for reliable emergency response operations
*Replacement of specialized emergency response equipment
Special department expenses costs of $65,433 for:
*Department-specific costs related to enhanced operations
*Training programs and certification requirements
*Compliance with federal and state safety standards
There are no additional administrative costs included in the assessment budget.
Ripon Fire currently operates from one staffed station. Federal safety standards require four qualified personnel for interior firefighting operations, but current staffing often requires waiting for mutual aid to meet these requirements.
In 2025, the District experienced 986 concurrent calls where the single engine company was already responding to one emergency when another call occurred. At times this resulted in a delayed response due to waiting for another agency's engine to arrive to the call.
The proposed rates beyond single family homes on an annual basis are:
*$107.32 per unit in a multi-family complex.
$461.44 per half acre of commercial/industrial.
*$381.88 per half acre for office.
*$630.64 per half acre of storage.
*$33.02 per parking lot.
*$36.82 per vacant lot.
*$2.74 per non-irrigated agricultural land.
*$0.77 per acre of irrigated agricultural land.
*$1.59 per acre of range land an open space.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
